Episode 02
1046 Words
Serenya pov
"I am the only child of my parents. The words had been more acerbic than I had wished, so I snapped, "There's no need to compare me with your mate."
Because you nod and smile in public and act like everything is fine, I smile at Luna from the nearby pack.
As though he had been doing it all morning, he said, "I hope you are not pregnant yet, are you?" after observing me as though he could read the lie on my face.
"Kaelen, what are you thinking about?" I asked him directly. The hints that had been simmering between us for days had grown old to me.
He spoke slowly, as if gauging how much of himself to reveal, saying, "For now, I want to talk with her; I would rather not cause her any distress." "But, Serenya, I don't want to cause you any harm."
His voice was sharp and soft all at once. I clung to my smile like a plate of armor.
And what would you like to talk about with her? Will you reject me or her? Movement steadied me, so I led the way to the bar.
He declared, "Corni wants her." Like a weather report, he stated it as fact. It's the connection. My wolf desires her.
I felt the glass cool in my hand, like a promise gone cold, as he ordered wine for the two of us.
After a pause, he continued, "You deserve better," which sounded like one of those phrases people use when they are at a loss for words.
"I certainly do. I said, "Just like you found your mate, I will find mine," and I saw him wince as he was unable to control himself.
He was justified in flinching. He was entitled to a start. I was the one who gave, and tonight I allowed my words to act as tiny blades.
"Pardon me." I left the hall's commotion, music, and glitz behind. I needed a space where they wouldn’t see me cry so I decided to enter the restroom. When I saw her , kaelen fated mate, crying. For a moment i wanted to ask what was wrong when i noticed the minor cut on her cheek. Then I saw her hands shaking and the dark line on her neck.
"Who did this to you?" I couldn't help but ask.
"What is so special about you that my mate cannot leave you even though it has been five days since we saw each other?" She spat after jerking away.
Five days. The word struck me hard.
I took a swallow. "Five days?" I threw the question at the world, and it felt like an accusation.
She turned and left as if I had already responded to her. Red streaks had been left on the tile by someone. I felt the warm moisture beneath my finger as I touched it.
The grout was soaked with blood, I paced the deserted hallway, looking for answers I didn't have. There was nobody else. My intention to weep in private was dashed.
Standing in the doorway like a god irritated to be mortal for a moment, I saw him before he saw me.
His nostrils widened. He clenched his jaw. He appeared to be able to swallow the world and not taste it for a brief moment.
His serious expression caused the room to become quieter as he demanded, "How could you?"
"How could I what?" I asked because I needed the air to move, and I didn't want my dignity to be destroyed by his accusation.
"You were with her in the bathroom." He spoke as though being close was a sign of treachery.
"I would never go to the bathroom with Amelia for any reason—" Like a splinter that tastes foul, the name slipped out of my mouth. I paused.
He took a step forward. "Avoid threatening her once more. Or you'll witness my worst.
My fingers went numb with anger. Even his threats sounded clean, like a blade being sharpened, and his voice shook the air.
Standing behind him, she wiped her cheeks as if she were following a script that had just been handed to her.
"You believe that I would ever—" I had learned the value of silence, so even though my mouth was full of things I wanted to say to him, I said nothing.
He then uttered the icy, clinical words, "You have been a wonderful Luna, Serenya." "I appreciate you taking care of my pack. However, it's time for you to leave your position.
Like a verdict, the sentence fell.
The music in the hall was all I could hear for a brief moment, as if it were happening to someone else.
I remarked, "You act as though this were a ceremony." I had practiced this face in the mirror, so my voice did not tremble.
I said, "Give me two days," because i needed to be sure of this pregnancy that he was not aware of . For two days. And don't come looking at me.
His face tensed. Ignorant, the hive of bees hummed around us.
Serenya, what's wrong with you? He said, "You don't act like this," as though my response were an issue that he could resolve with a single word.
I remarked, "My behavior reflects yours." "Congratulations to you both." I turned to leave, the smile tasting like iron.
I could not control the rhythm of my heels clicking on the floor, and I felt the years pass by like pages in a book that had been burned.
He had folded them with ease, and I had given him ten years of myself.
I left the hall as if I had practiced vanishing, as if I were leaving someone else's life in the same way that people cross streets to avoid confrontations.
The pieces might fall and scatter where everyone could see them if I stopped, so I continued.
I let the night wind slap my face as I stepped outside, allowing the chill to take the edge off of me.
After everything that one person had done to me, I turned on my heel and left, doing my best not to break like glass.
- Writer
